Sales of electric cars could move out of the slow lane with the arrival of an electric version of the world's best-selling car.

The Ford Focus Electric, which goes on sale in the UK on Thursday, runs entirely on battery power for up to 100 miles between charges and has a top speed of 85mph. At a price of £28,500 even after a government grant, it will cost twice as much as the cheapest petrol-powered Focus.

The Focus Electric is not significantly more impressive on paper than the last generation of electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, which went on sale in 2011. But it has been well received by motoring experts, who described it as having "excellent driving dynamics" and called it "a great new electric car to be enjoyed and savoured."

A Ford spokesman said: "Ultimately Ford have now electrified one of the best-selling cars in Britain. It is a very popular business and family car."

The car faces competition from other imminent high-profile electric car launches, including the smaller BMW i3, which has a range of 80-100 miles and will cost £25,680 after the government's grant.

The Focus Electric's arrival comes a day after the government said every new car sold in 2040 should be an electric or hydrogen vehicle, to cut carbon emissions.

Publishing a Department for Transport strategy on low-emission cars, the transport minister, Norman Baker, said: "As well as huge opportunities for the automotive sector, this [move to low-emission vehicles] will bring life-changing benefits to our towns and cities improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions and it will provide energy security by reducing our reliance on foreign oil imports."